Please make sure to read the AN at the end of the page. It means a lot to me. R&R!
"I take you to be my constant friend, my faithful partner and my love, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, in sorrow as well as in joy, in the good times, and in the bad. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, until death do us part."
Yet her promise never did come true.
She had never really surpassed the barrier, the mental obstacle that kept reminding her of her friends, the hard times they stood with their shaking hands linked, the horror Klaus had brought and done to them, and the fact that this Klaus, the Klaus sitting beside her on the plane was the same but different person from the one in her space-time. The one she had not only secretly fell for but also forbid herself to go near to. At times she wondered if it was okay to love this version of Klaus, if it was mere empathy she was feeling for this guy, and if it was right to forget all those guilt she used to hold and hide into this Klaus' arms like they never did existed.
Was it really that easy, for her to discard those unforgivable faults?
Obviously this Klaus had nothing to do with those villainous plotting and destroying, but is it fine, for her to let go of her own morals and tell this man she loved him every night before they fell asleep together, when he was a parallel version of the man she originally, truly loved?
She was loving the same, and the different man at the same time, after all.
"Relax. It's going to be okay." He took her hand from the handle to give it a comforting squeeze, "they will be behaving their best."
Despite all the hesitations she'd been debating to herself, she was now, sitting there beside him, on that aircraft to London, to his family.
She rolled her eyes, "easy for you to say. You're not the one meeting her boyfriend's siblings for the first time, after their absence from his mother's funeral."
"Calm down, love. They all know the reason why we missed the big event." He brought her hand in his to his lips and pressed a kiss on it as he stared directly, deeply, fondly into her eyes, "and I'm sure they're going to like you. How can they not like such a caring, sweet, wide-hearted girl when she's the only one there for their brother at his lowest times?"
She shot him a knowing smile for the truth in his words. The little business Klaus'd been running since he moved to Mystic Falls 4 years ago was facing its biggest trouble and it almost got him bankrupt just a year ago. He resembled the Klaus from her space-time more than ever during that period, always furious, cynical and kept on pushing his closest friends away. When everyone, including friends, business partners and sponsors, decided they were fed up with his shit and left him struggling on his own, shaking their sleeves, she'd stuck with him. She took care of him when he evaded reality by blind-drinking, she helped him out of that vortex of dark emotions, told him she'd seen much worse before, she even worked extra hours to provide them extra cash. When things finally was taking a better turn half a year ago, he got the first call from his family over the years, only to inform him his mother had passed. He never really told her about his parents, and due to some family reasons they'd never heard from his brothers- only random calls from Rebekah a few times a year- but from her knowledge of the originals she knew this Klaus wasn't having any better time with his family. Ever so stubborn, he hadn't even mentioned a word to his family about his financial crisis, not until months ago, not until everything had already been solved.
And during those worst times, she had done everything except leaving.
From deep down in her heart, she knew that there were times when she doubt herself and this relationship, but she knew better. She knew that this was what she would do for her Klaus, the Klaus in reality, if she had a chance.
Taking Caroline's silent drift in her thoughts as another act of anxiety, Klaus tried joking to lighten up the atmosphere, "Aw come on, you've practically met Bekah already."
"As in meeting the bucket of dirty water she threw out of the window? Or meeting the shoe you borrowed-slash-stole from her for me?" She huffed and performed her trademark eye roll, unable to hold back the laughter, knowing he was trying to ease her nerves, "like I didn't know Rebekah is one of the biggest trouble I'm gonna face when meeting your siblings."
And there came the awkward moment, when the stiff hellos and nice-to-meet-yous and self-introductions were over, when everyone'd had themselves seated at the huge Mikaelson dining table in their London mansion.
Caroline forced out her best Miss MF smile and tried to be the one who broke the abashing silence, "I am terribly sorry for missing your mother's funeral. Klaus and I really tried, but conditions were-"
"Save it." Rebekah cut in, putting no effort in faking a smile, "so how exactly did you guys meet each other?"
Taking in the piercing glares the other blonde was shooting at her, Caroline secretly thanked the original Rebekah for being way bitchier so that handling this Rebekah became a piece of cake. Neither did she cringe nor hesitate, she started telling their story fluently. Klaus' earlier words recalled, it wasn't until that moment, the moment when she rewind and looked through the new life she'd started here, did she realize she had lead a happy and successful 4-year life in this space-time with this Klaus. There was nothing to be ashamed or afraid of. This would've been the life the real Klaus and she wanted, if they had their opportunity.
"Oh that's her version of the story. I say she had a crush on me years before we met and the whole stumbling upon thing was a well-executed plan she made." Klaus joked, looking fondly at his girlfriend with his arm around her shoulder, "she even knew Bekah's name before I told her."
Triggered by her brother's words, Rebekah folded her palms under her jaw and gave Caroline a narrowed-eye sneer, "well that explains everything. Tell us where you met her, Nik. In a bar full of sluts? A gold-digger packed party? A brothel?"
Before Caroline could even defend herself, Klaus had already growled, his fist clenched, "don't you talk to or about Caroline like that again, or I'll-"
"For your own sake, Rebekah, would you please behave yourself and stop shaming the family?" Ever the composed and calm one, Elijah prevented the argue before it could start by interrupting, "you will not forget Caroline was the one that stayed beside Niklaus when none of us did. And for that, let alone the numerous positive effects - the old Niklaus would've ripped your liver out seconds ago- she had done to our impulsive brother, we ought to be forever grateful."
Oh you have no idea how true you sound. Caroline thought to herself. She had to swallow the laugh when she found how alike the two Mikaelson families were, despite in two exactly different space-times, "it's no big deal, Elijah. I've heard worse."
Rebekah huffed and fell silent after looking away, obviously annoyed by the fact that not only her favorite but also her second eldest brother was standing on her opposite side.
Elijah simply sighed at his ever little-girl-like, grumpy sister after giving the guest an apologetic nod, "sorry, you were saying?"
"That she knew Bekah's name before Nik even told her, when Nik was one shot away from getting himself blind-drunk, and she was an underwear away from Nik's credit card password." Finally breaking the silence he had been keeping since saying hi, Kol popped up, wearing that wide smug smirk.
While the other two Mikaelson brothers were both giving the youngest their this-is-not-funny glare, Caroline simply giggled.
"I could never surpass you in that field, Kol," she shot back casually, "still the womanizer huh?"
"Can't find the best if I'm crowned the second." Kol cackled as he leaned against the back of his chair with his arms crossed behind his head and lips tugged from ear to ear, "you know Bekah? I think I like her. Nik finally found a girl with some sense of humor."
Caroline turned to her side and smiled against Klaus's approaching lips, putting on fake jealousy, "and how many girls before me exactly?"
"Ugh, seriously, stop eye-mouth-mind fucking each other, you two." Rebekah stuck out her tongue as if she was going to throw up, still not in her best mood.
Again, Elijah was the one to take control of the up-coming chaos, overly keen as always, "how did you know, seriously?"
That moment, Caroline almost panicked. She didn't know how to answer that. Neither did she want to. She hadn't even told Klaus yet. Seriously, how was she going to tell him and his family, whom she had just met, that she was from a parallel world where they were all the most deadly, monstrous creatures ever existed? It's not like Rebekah hadn't been holding hostility against her enough to take her as a lunatic.
Then she felt it, Klaus' hand secretly reached hers under the table, providing the security, the understanding, the 'no need to answer now' assurance she needed desperately.
"The fact that she knew my name and every other thing about me only confirmed and proved that we were meant to meet," he responded instead, silently rubbing the back of her palm, "like I was hers, she was made for me."
And that was when Rebekah decided that was the ultimate amount of disgust she would stand. She rose abruptly and dashed out the dining room with a 'get a room' thrown over her shoulder.
"Are you feeling alright, love?" Klaus' voice rang from Caroline's back. She could see his reflection approaching in the window, yet she didn't make a sound.
He knelt down and hugged her from behind, voice suddenly sharp, "I heard about the health examination. When were you going to tell me?"
Eyes filled with tears, she struggled to fight that blocking knot in her throat, squeezing out more like noises than voice, "it's not worth telling."
"What, of course it is!" He released her only to turn her face half compulsorily, "we've been together for 6 years now, and you weren't going to tell me that you're dying?"
She struggled out of the tight grasp of his fingers on her chin, and once again looked down at the floor, speechless.
Taking her silence as an offense, Klaus stood up in fury, "Caroline you can't do this to me! I could've still be left in the dark if your mother hadn't told me!"
"And she shouldn't have." She murmured, hoping the pouring rain outside would wash everything away. Her voice, their fight now, this spat, and the mysterious nightmare of sickness.
Her body hadn't been functioning well since the start of the year, and she'd always taken it at a sign of overwork. It wasn't until lately that the situation became too serious did she let her mother force her to the hospital for a check-up- because please, if you'd been a vampire in your previous life, when all you need to heal was a bag of fridge blood, you wouldn't want to go through all those tedious health check program only to exit with a result report instead of a handful of B-positives.
"Caroline! Are you listening to yourself?" Klaus held his head with both his hands, frustrated, "I know this anonymous diseases, this unexpected illness is freaking you out- believe me it's doing the same to me- but you can't be defeated, not like this!"
"I'm not defeated!" she yelled, and she meant it.
The doctor had told her they failed to find any abnormality in her, except that her body was collapsing at an uncontrollable speed without any concrete reason. The moment she heard that diagnosis she knew what was happening to her. Last time she heard about that word 'collapsing', it was referring to the breaking rule between different worlds, parallel universes. Thanks to that crumbling order, she got her chance to borrow, or rather, to steal her wonderful 6 years with this Klaus, to love, to shine, to orbit around him in this illusory galaxy.
Now was simply time to return.
"Then why are you acting like this? Why didn't you tell me?" Klaus shouted back, his rage building.
Avoiding him and his question, she exhaled, "now that you know, you're free to go."
"May I beg your pardon?" Astonished, he took a step back before querying.
"Do you remember what you told your siblings, in London, a few years ago, Nik? 'We were meant to meet', I never imagined you would say such moving words to anyone, let alone become this caring, loving man standing in front of me, Niklaus Mikaelson." She finally raised her head and looked directly into those greyish sapphire eyes, Niklaus Mikaelson's eyes. "And maybe we are meant to meet. But this is maybe when you leave me, and I leave you. Your business is running well again, you have bright future. And I don't know how long this will drag, or how abrupt it will come. We all know who you are and how you act when you lose someone you love, Nik. I know this better than anyone in this fucking world, because I love you and you me. I'm no saint, I'm not doing this for you. I'm asking you to let me be for myself."
"Don't you understand, Nik? I don't want to be the one to pull you through those tragic emotion blackhole for losing love again." She walked over, sight never tearing apart, and cupped his face with her pale palms. "Please let me end this before it gets out of control."
Tears streamed along his cheeks. They were so boiling hot that it almost burnt Caroline's fingers, just like how she'd always felt when he showed her his affection, when she felt his love and his flaming heart under that ice-cold façade.
"What do you mean by 'again'?" Klaus detected in spite of the condition they were in, "does this have anything to do with your knowing-it-all?"
"No," she dodged. What's the use of telling him now, when I hadn't told him for years? Of course she was talking about the other Klaus.
His hand reached hers on his face, worry written in his moist eyes, "tell me, love. Does this- this illness have anything to do with-"
"Just drop it, Nik!" She cut him off. "it's over, okay? We're over. In fact we've been over longer than you ever know, Klaus. We were never going to work. This isn't reality, this is a fucking parallel illusion! This stupid relationship, this breakup, they don't even exist, what have we been doing kidding ourselves?"
The hands hovering above hers began grasping her shoulders as he closed up their distance with a suffocating, heated kiss, "what are you talking about? Caroline, you're confusing me. You are not giving up, we are fighting this-"
"Just leave me alone!" She burst out.
There was a long pause before his jaw tightened and that familiar flash of hurt glowed in his melancholic ocean of blues. He turned on his heels and stormed out her room, "suite yourself."
Caroline collapsed on the floor. She did it. She still hurt him, despite the effort she'd made not to, he was hurt.
Teardrops blurred and gushed from her eyes. She was summoning every ounce of will to not fall apart, to cry silently, at least before he leave this house, their house.
But the slam on the front door she expected never did happen.
Instead, Klaus rushed back to the room, and before she got the chance to figure out what was going on, he'd swept her over his shoulder and started carrying her to their car.
"What are you doing, let! Me! Down!" Caroline's kicks and beats in the air were in vain, "I told you to leave me alone!"
When he did put her down, he immediately tied her up with the seatbelt and jogged to the driver's seat, "you probably already knew since, no, before we met, but in case you didn't: Nikaus Mikaelson is not someone to be bossed around. Neither is he one taking orders."
"Ugh, seriousl-" she was going to complain before inertia jerked her back against the backrest of her seat as the car bolt out into the streets like a bullet, "where are we going, and why are you driving so fucking fast? Slow down! You're going to kill us!"
Her blame only pushed him to press on the pedal harder and further, "what's the matter, love? You were planning on dying with or without me!"
It was at that moment, in her widened eyes she saw that Klaus she was familiar with. Furious, reckless, impulsive, devastating.
What have I done to him? She asked herself, but the answer was nowhere to be found.
In her silence he gradually speeded down, and when she ran out of tears her eyes were too dry to keep themselves open. Slowly, in the regularly rocking car, she fell asleep in the consuming guilt and decelerating, dying heartbeat.
When she opened her eyes again it was dark. The rain had stopped. The digital clock on the dashboard read 4:30a.m. The refrain of tides flowed through the shut window. Empty driver's seat.
"Come out if you're awake." Klaus' knock on the glass almost stunned her. Still in fright of what he said at the beginning of the drive, or rather, the race, she obeyed as he said.
Once Caroline landed, a thick quilt wrapped he torso from her back. His hands lingered on her shoulder a bit longer than necessary.
He paused a while before apologizing, "did I scare you? It was the anger, my pride talking."
She shook her head as she took in their surroundings, muddled by the darkness, "it's no big deal, I know you didn't mean it. But I did. I meant what I said at home-"
"Walk with me." Neither did he answer or argue. He simply held out his hand.
And it was irresistible as always.
As they strolled in darkness and speechlessness, the singing of the waves kept ringing a familiar tone to Caroline. She took another look at her side and saw the fence, and at the end of the now dusky street was a half-lit neon sign of a once fancy Japanese restaurant.
"Is this-?" She gasped in realization.
He kept on walking and finally stopped a few steps in front of her, on a manhole plate. "Yes. This is where we met, technically the second time."
Caroline brought her hands to her chin, tears building yet again as he bent and knelt down like he did at this exact spot 6 years ago.
"This is where I met this stunning woman standing in front of me, where I met the most loyal, wide-hearted, faithful friend I've ever seen, the love of my life, who'd gone through thick and thin, good times and bad times with me. I could still remember the way you held your head under the glaring sun that day, Caroline, like you knew our lives would never be the same." He scooped out the navy velvet box he'd taken when he left Caroline's room shortly back when they were at home, and opened it with one knee on the pavement, under all those stars that seemed to shine just for him and her in the dark slateblue sky, "think of the magic we've made, love. We met in joy and health but you stuck with me in sorrow and worse times. How could I not stand by you in sickness? This is easier, way easier than the rough times you've gone through with me."
Caroline's face was already covered with tears by then. "I don't want you to feel like you have to do this just because you think you owe it to me, or because you pity a dying girl."
"Nonsense, Caroline. I'm more than honored to do so. You'll be the one who's doing a favor." He then swallowed, straightened his spine for the meaningful proposal he was about to give, and pulled open the lid of the box, revealing the shinning ring he'd prepared a month ago, "will you marry me, Caroline Forbes, take me as your husband, until death do us part?"
Caroline had been dreaming of this exact moment for a long, long time, even before she'd become a vampire and met Klaus. As a little girl she had pictured thousands of romantic scenes and lines, but none of them were as good as what she was getting. None of them could compare their story, their magic.
So instead of giving that typical 'yes' with tears and hug, she bent and took her shoes off before pulling her fiancé-to-be. They ran to the end of the fence like they did 6 years ago, and skipped a few steps in rush down the stairs to the beach, linked hands shaking in extreme joy. They dashed until their toes could feel the tickles of the waves, orange sun ray glistening on the wavy surface of the blue as dawn gradually broke.
Then at the moment the sun had fully emerged from the horizon, she stood on her tip toe to whisper her answer to his previous question.
"Caroline! Caroline! Sweetie?"
Her eyelashes fluttered at the call of her name. She almost moaned his name before she found out who exactly was the source of the noise that woke her, "Mom?"
"Time to go, honey." Liz stood up from the sandy ground, and started packing their stuff.
"Wha-what? Caroline looked around. She was lying under that colorful, giant umbrella Liz'd rented from the resort. But, but she was lying on the beach, at this very spot, with Klaus! They were admiring the sunrise, kissing and laughing and enjoying their time as an engaged couple after he'd slipped that ring onto her finger!
She took in her mother's dripping hair and surfing suite, "what year, no, what time is it, Mom?"
Liz replied delightedly, totally unaware of that beyond description look on her daughter's face, "about five thirty. The tide had just ebbed. The surfing course was great and the coach asked me to come practice on my own before class tomorrow."
"So it was all just a dream…" Caroline mumbled to herself. To tell the truth, she always knew what she had in the other world was too good to be true.
Compromising with reality, she propped her left hand against the mat so she could stand up and join her mother's return.
Then she saw it, on her left ring finger. The ring.
Surprised, she took it off and examined it, eager to find the slightest evidence of its existence, the truth of her dream.
And there it was, on the inside of the ring was a tiny line of inscription—
Through Ebb & Flow
"What?" Liz leaned to her daughter's direction to check out what the delay was for, "where'd you get that ring?"
Caroline just shook her head in silence.
That was the instant she realized everything about her dream.
What she had with the parallel Klaus, it wasn't a stolen relationship. It was an opportunity that the Caroline and Klaus in real world never had.
She'd seen couples fought and broke up, and she knew the lovebirds that had flown apart weren't not good enough for each other. They were either too young, too impulsive, or too madly in love at their time. All they wanted was to convey their love by conquering each other, which was exactly what drawn them apart. They were just not yet ready, not ripe enough for the love they deserved. And when they were,- poor, limited humans- they were simply too old, or had even long passed.
Klaus and her was too much alike and too different, they couldn't sustain each other's love right now.
Good that they were immortal. They had thousands of years to idle, to waste, to grow, to mellow before they continue idling, wasting, growing, mellowing together for the next millennium, and the millenniums after that. They have plenty of time to prepare themselves for each other.
"I intend to be your last, however long it takes."
Again, she smiled at the ring, and the ebbing tides.
"I had the time of my life, good ones and hard ones, with you."
-THE END-
Hi there! I know it's been a while since part one, but here you go with part 2! I hope you like it, I myself am pretty satisfied with its outcome. Please review for this story is super important to me. It contained my theory, or rather philosophy not only for Klaroline but also for all relationship in this beautiful world.
In my opinion, men like Klaus would never get married, not even any kind of proposal. He has too much to carry, and the poor example his parents set for him was definitely not helping with his faith in marriage. So why this ending you might ask. Just like mentioned in the end of the narration, after reading Murakami Haruki's On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning, I started to believe that maybe people only miss their soulmates because when they did meet, they weren't ready for each other- they weren't each other's 100% perfect yet- or they simply didn't know they were already perfect for each other at that exact moment. There is an ancient Chinese Buddhist saying that I liked very much, "a single brush past encounter this life is awarded for 500 glances from previous lives." In Klaroline's case, I think they were just not ready for each other when they parted ways in the show. I agreed with Joseph Morgan in one of his interviews, although maybe he was simply tired of being asked about Klaroline reunion and was hoping to shut we Klaroline shipper fans up once and for all. He said, by then Klaus was far from ready for a serious relationship like he wanted with Caroline, that if they did become a couple the conflicts between them would only eventually drive them apart, and that such nice girl like Caroline shouldn't be treated that way. Yes I know it sounds like an official jargon, but somehow I was convinced by his saying, and, who knows? Julie left us with that 'last love' promise.
Just in case you want to re-read this story with the background music I wrote to, I was playing Taylor Swift's Long Live when writing. Taylor's songs aren't always my type, but the lyrics of this song just strikes the chord of my heart. I always think of my best friends, those who were there for me through ebbs and flows, when listening to this song and I am forever grateful. The bond between our beloved Klaroline is by far stronger and more complicated, but I believe the lyrics suite any relationship, friendship or love, that makes magic.
PS. I'll try my best to update Beauty next week, but no promises!
-With a heart swelling with love, A